17 March 2026

Rising fossil gas prices highlight need for structural energy reforms in Europe

16 March 2026

As EU energy ministers meet today to discuss energy prices, security of supply and the upcoming European grids package, civil society coalition Beyond Fossil Fuels is urging European governments to adopt structural measures needed to bring down Europe’s energy bills and reduce exposure to volatile fossil fuel markets ahead of the next European Council on 19-20 March.

The call comes as Europe faces another energy price shock triggered by escalating conflict in the Middle East – the third fossil-fuel-driven energy crisis in just 15 years. Disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important oil and LNG transit routes, have already pushed European gas prices sharply higher, with increases of up to almost +60%, particularly hitting gas-dependant economies such as Italy (+58%), Germany (+52%), the Netherlands + 56%, and driven oil prices above $100 per barrel. 

In a continent still heavily dependent on fossil gas imports, such geopolitical shocks risk abruptly driving up energy bills again for households and businesses, highlighting the urgent need to accelerate the transition to secure, homegrown clean energy. As many as one in 10 European households struggled to heat their homes adequately before the start of the latest crisis. 

Following President von der Leyen’s recent remarks on the energy price crisis, the group calls on EU leaders to go further to address the root cause of high electricity prices: Europe’s continued dependence on fossil gas. As von der Leyen herself rightfully noted, “as long as we import a significant share of fossil fuels from unstable regions, we are vulnerable and dependent”. This instability comes at a price: Just “10 days of war have already cost European taxpayers an additional €3 billion in fossil fuels imports.

Beyond Fossil Fuels is calling on governments to prioritise the following actions to protect consumers and secure economic security:

1. Accelerate investment in clean flexibility solutions. Batteries, demand-side response, and other clean flexibility technologies help integrate growing and more affordable renewable energy, stabilise electricity systems and protect consumers from price shocks. Recent market developments illustrate this: after disruptions to LNG flows through the Strait of Hormuz triggered a spike in gas prices earlier this month, electricity price spreads surged in systems heavily reliant on gas plants for flexibility. By contrast, countries with higher levels of non-thermal flexibility, including hydro, pumped storage and batteries, experienced significantly smaller price increases. The Flexibility Needs Assessments – due to be submitted by Member States in July this year – are the crucial opportunity to scale up these solutions at a national level. 
2. Remove subsidies for gas power plants. Capacity market contracts and other support mechanisms risk adding billions to consumers’energy bills, while locking Europe into continued fossil gas dependence. With governments already debating interventions to manage rising gas prices, these mechanisms risk prolonging the very system that exposes consumers to global fossil fuel shocks.
3. Commit to phasing out gas-fired power. Since fossil gas is driving the crisis, the solution can only be one: phasing it out of the energy system. Proposals to subsidise or cap gas prices without a clear phase-out plan risk distorting markets and weakening investment signals for renewables and clean flexibility.
4. Ensure grid investments support a fossil-free electricity system. Expanding and modernising Europe’s electricity grids will be essential to integrate more renewable energy. Strengthened governance and independent system planning is needed to ensure grid investments align with the transition to a fossil-free power system. 
5. Protect the integrity of the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS). As the EU’s central tool for reducing emissions, the ETS provides a critical investment signal for the transition to a competitive low-carbon economy. Stable and predictable carbon pricing is essential for enabling companies to invest in clean technologies. Over 100 companies and investors, as well as 35 civil society groups across Europe signed open letters calling on EU leaders to maintain a strong and credible EU Emissions Trading System.
6. Provide long-term policy certainty for renewables and energy savings. Only by setting clear 2040 targets, investors and industry can have the long-term certainty needed to scale up clean energy and replace fossil gas across Europe’s energy system.

According to Beyond Fossil Fuels, these measures would help structurally lower energy bills, strengthen Europe’s energy security, and accelerate the transition to homegrown renewable energy.

Spokespeople from Beyond Fossil Fuels are available for comment and interviews following the European Council meetings later this week.

Juliet Phillips, Campaigner with Beyond Fossil Fuels, says: “Households and businesses are paying too high a price for our dependence on fossil fuels: through our energy bills, in our energy insecurity, and in the worsening climate impact. Trying to fix the problem with more gas is like pouring fuel on the fire and hoping the flames will go out. The structural solution is a rapid transition to renewable energy, backed by grid modernisation and clean, fossil-free flexibility. The path is clear: let’s be bold and act now to break this vicious cycle, there cannot be a next time.”

Resources

• Latest energy shock reminds Europe of its risky gas reliance, Ember – March 2026
• Aurora latest analysis on Impact of the Iran conflicts on European power markets
• Upholding the integrity of the EU ETS: A civil society letter to EU leaders
• Clean flexibility – February 2026 (read report by The Brattle Group)
  • Not only clean flexibility reduces reliance on fossil gas, but it also lowers energy bills for customers, with estimated potential savings in Europe of €300 billion per year by 2030. 
  • Clean flexibility capacity in Europe is expected to grow from roughly 150 GW in 2030 to more than 700 GW by 2050. To put that into perspective, 700 GW is nearly four times the entire installed capacity of gas power plants in Europe today (186 GW).
  • 2026 is a major year for clean flexibility in the EU. By June 2026, Member States will need to submit their Flexibility Needs Assessments, which should set ambitious national targets for non-fossil flexibility that align with climate and energy goals [briefing + 1 pager].

• European gas plants tracker,Beyond Fossil Fuels 
• Public money, private interests: EU governments usher through fossil gas subsidies worth billions, Beyond Fossil Fuels  – October 2025.
• Fossil Gas Freeloaders: Beyond Fossil Fuels exposes the utilities benefiting from European “capacity market” subsidies, Beyond Fossil Fuels – June 2025.
• Dead End Ahead: How gas plans are distracting the Western Balkans from the energy transition, Beyond Fossil Fuels – September 2025.
• Capacity markets have awarded over €50bn to fossil fuel assets since 2015 — almost triple of that allocated to clean flexibility, Beyond Fossil Fuels – January 2025.
• European Electricity Review, Ember – January 2025
• Communication on Citizens Energy Package, European Commission – March 2026.

Contacts

Margherita Gagliardi, Communications Director, Beyond Fossil Fuels – [email protected]

Nina Tramullas, Senior Media Manager, Beyond Fossil Fuels – [email protected]

Tara Connolly, Campaigner, Beyond Fossil Fuels – [email protected]

Juliet Phillips, Energy Campaigner, Beyond Fossil Fuels – [email protected]

About Us

Beyond Fossil Fuels is a civil society network committed to ensuring a just and rapid transition to a fossil-free, renewables-based future. Building upon the Europe Beyond Coal campaign, its goal is for Europe to be coal-free by 2030 and phase out fossil gas from the power sector by 2035. A clean and flexible energy system will deliver lasting benefits for people, the climate and the broader economy. Beyond Fossil Fuels is a non-profit organisation with an office in Berlin, with staff spread across Europe.

www.beyondfossilfuels.org